The flower at the edge of the Rift shimmered once more.
Then the ground beneath it split open.
Not like an earthquake.
Like a door.
Raizen walked forward, calm and silent. The opening wasn't wide, just large enough for a man to pass through. But what lay beyond it stretched impossibly deep.
Each step down felt like it crossed years.
No noise. No wind. No pressure.
Just gravity… and silence.
Eventually, he emerged into a chamber.
It wasn't a ruin.
It was a throne room.
Massive, circular, and polished to a shine—yet untouched by time. Black crystal walls pulsed faintly. Torches of voidflame burned without fuel. And in the center sat a man.
Or what was left of one.
---
The corpse was seated on a throne of twisted ore, his head lowered, his robes bearing the symbol of a crown surrounded by stars.
Raizen approached without fear.
This man had died long ago—but not from battle.
There were no wounds.
No decay.
His body was preserved by intent.
And from his chest, a single chain extended—piercing deep into the throne and glowing faintly with golden runes.
> "Sealed himself…"
Raizen reached out.
The moment his fingers brushed the chain, the air changed.
Time didn't move.
But the past returned.
---
A voice echoed through the chamber—not loud, not dramatic.
Just tired.
> "So you're the next one."
"Void still chooses."
Raizen looked around, but the corpse didn't speak.
This was a memory, not a soul.
The voice continued.
> "I was the last Void Emperor."
"I reached the peak. I killed gods. I made laws kneel."
"And I paid for it."
Raizen stayed quiet.
He knew this wasn't a story with a happy ending.
> "They don't fear our power."
"They fear our freedom."
"Because void doesn't bind. It dissolves."
> "When I finally understood that, I stopped fighting."
"Not because I lost. But because I couldn't grow."
"Every time I moved forward, the world broke more."
Raizen stepped closer, the chain's light crawling across his hand.
> "So I sealed my will."
"Left it here. Buried it below the Rift."
"For someone who wouldn't make the same mistake."
Then silence.
Until one final whisper.
> "If you're not afraid to die…"
"Then take it."
---
The corpse's chest opened.
Not violently. Not magically.
It simply parted.
And inside, floating between still ribs, was a core.
Not a beast core.
Not a cultivation pill.
But a fragment of authority.
Raizen reached in and took it.
The instant his fingers closed around it—
The chamber shook.
---
Not from collapse.
From recognition.
The void responded like an animal recognizing a new master.
Symbols lit up across the walls, recounting scenes—battles, betrayals, realms falling, immortals begging. Raizen saw it all, but he didn't flinch.
He wasn't here to follow.
He was here to surpass.
The crystal pulsed once in his palm, then melted into his body.
And the chain connecting to the throne?
Snapped.
The corpse finally slumped, as if released from duty.
And the chamber dimmed.
---
When Raizen rose back out of the Rift, the world felt lighter.
Not because it had changed.
But because he no longer carried the burden of questions.
Now, he had answers.
And one goal:
> "They don't want us to grow…"
"Then I'll grow until they can't reach me."
He looked toward the eastern sky.
Toward the divine realm.
Toward the coming war.